Toe iron for safety ski bindings

ABSTRACT

The toe iron comprises a soleholder carrier and an upwardly movable soleholder. The soleholder is held on the soleholder carrier by means of a cam slot to be movable approximately vertically upwardly against the force of at least one return spring and is also pivoted to the soleholder carrier by means of a horizontal transverse pivot. The sole-holder has a lower surface, which in the normal position of the soleholder engages at least one supporting surface of the soleholder carrier. The top part of the soleholder bears on the soleholder carrier by means of a locking or follower arm, which holds the soleholder against a pivotal movement in its normal position.

United States atet 1 [111 3,776,58 Marker Dec, 4, 1973 [54] TOE IRON FOR SAFETY SKI BINDINGS 3,689,095 9/1972 Salomon 280/ 1 1.35 T

[76] Inventor: l-lannes Marker, l-lauptstrasse 1 I 7 S Omen 280/11 35 T 51-53, Garmisch-Partenkirchen,

Germany Primary ExamzrterR obert R. Song Attorney-Martin Flelt et a1.

[22] Filed: Feb. 22, 1972 [30] Foreign Application Priority Data Nov. 11, 1969 Germany P 19 56 653.1

[52] US. Cl. 280/1135 T [51] Int. Cl. A63c 9/00 [58] Field of Search 280/1135 T [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,614,118 10/1971 Salomon 280/1135 T V as Appl. No.: 227,808

Related US. Application Data Division of Ser. No. 81,702, Oct. 19, 1970, Pat. No. 3,722,902.

[ 5 7 ABSTRACT The toe iron comprises a soleholder carrier and an upwardly movable soleholder. The soleholder is held on the soleholder carrier by means of a cam slot to be movable approximately vertically upwardly against the force of at least one return spring and is also pivoted to the soleholder carrier by means of a horizontal transverse pivot. The sole-holder has a lower surface, which in the normal position of the soleholder engages at least one supporting surface of the soleholder carrier. The top part of the soleholder bears on the soleholder carrier by means of a looking or follower arm, which holds the soleholder against a pivotal movement in its normal position.

3 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures TOE IRON FOR SAFETY SKI BINDINGS This application is a division of application Ser. No. 81,702, filed Oct. 1970, now US. Pat. No. 3,722,902.

The present invention relates to toe irons for safety ski bindings, which toe irons comprise a soleholder carrier and an upwardly movable soleholder.

When in such toe iron the soleholder is subjected to a vertically directed overload, e.g., during a rearward fall of the skier, the soleholder can perform an upward pivotal movement to release the skiing boot. These known toe irons have either the disadvantage that forces and shocks which act vertically on the soleholder and which are not dangerous to the skiers leg cannot be taken up elastically but may result in releases which are not required, or that the structure of the toe irons involves such a high complication and expenditure that their practical use does not appear to make sense.

It is an object of the present invention so to design a toe iron of the kind described first hereinbefore that it does not have the above-mentioned disadvantages of the known toe iron.

This object is accomplished according to the invention in that the soleholder is provided, which is held on the soleholder carrier by means of a cam slot to be movable approximately vertically upwardly against the force of at least one return spring and is also pivoted to the soleholder carrier by means of a horizontal transverse pivot, said soleholder has a lower surface, which in the normal position of the soleholder engages at least one supporting suface of the soleholder carrier, and the top part of the soleholder bears on the soleholder carrier by means of a locking or follower arm, which holds the soleholder against a pivotal movement in its normal position.

If the soleholder is loaded in this arrangement in a vertical direction, the locking or follower arm performs an upwardly directed, elastic sliding movement along the supporting surface of the soleholder carrier so that the soleholder can swing upwardly and forwardly to release the skiing boot.

In a structural development of the invention it has proved particularly desirable to provide the cam slot in the form of an at least approximately vertical slot in the soleholder carrier and to arrange the pivot connected to the soleholder so that said pivot extends through said slot and normally engages the lower end thereof and is movable upwardly in the slot against the force of the return spring or return springs. Alternatively, the cam slot may consist of at least one aperture in the soleholder and the pivot may be immovably mounted in the soleholder carrier and extend through said aperture and may normally engage the upper end of the aperture in the soleholder and permit of a radial movement thereof against the force of the return spring or return springs.

To enable an elastic upward deflection of the soleholder so that the same is particularly insensitive to shock, the locking arm may bear in the normal position of the soleholder against a camlike extension, which is formed on the soleholder carrier and extends toward the rear end of the ski. If the cam is properly designed, this arrangement will ensure that the ski follows at least approximately an upward pivotal movement of the soleholder. Besides, the soleholder may be arranged to describe such a path during its upward pivotal movement that this movement will increase the stress of the contact pressure spring acting on the heel to urge the skiing boot against the toe iron. In this case, a weak return spring will be sufficient.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described more fully and by way of example on the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary central longitudinal sectional view showing a portion of the toe iron with the soleholder in its normal positon.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view similar to FIG. 1 and shows the toe iron with the soleholder in a vertical release positon.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view showing a toe iron in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view showing the toe iron according to FIG. 3 in elevation, partly in a central longitudinal sectional view, with the soleholder in normal position.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view which is similar to FIG. 4 but shows the soleholder in a vertical release position.

The toe iron which is shown only in part in FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises a soleholder carrier 23, which in known manner, not described in detail, is movable against a spring force transversely to the longitudinal direction of the ski. The soleholder carrier 23 is formed with a vertically upwardly extending slot 29, which extends through the soleholder carrier 23 in a direction that is transverse to the longitudinal direction of the toe iron. A pivot 30 extends through the slot 29 and by two helical compression springs 31 is normally held at the lower end of the slot 29. The helical compression springs 31 bear at one end on the pivot 30 and at their other end on the bottom of two vertical blind holes, which extend into the soleholder from below. Two forwardly extending arms 33 of a soleholder 28 are rotatably mounted on the pivot 30 and extend into the soleholder carrier 23 through two apertures formed in the latter. When the soleholder carrier 28 is in a normal position relative to the soleholder carrier 23, the arms 33 at their underside engage the lower boundary surfaces of the apertures to prevent a downward pivotal movement of the soleholder 28. To prevent an upward pivotal movement of the soleholder 28 in the normal position thereof, the soleholder 28 is provided with a locking or follower arm 34, which bears on the underside of a cam 35, which is provided on the rear wall of the soleholder carrier and extends toward the rear end of the ski.

The slot 29 permits of an upward movement of the soleholder 28 when the same is subjected by a vertically upwardly extending force which overcomes the spring force of the helical compression springs 31. During this operation, the locking or follower arm 34 is constrained to slide over the cam 35 so that the soleholder 28 is moved along an arc which is centered on a point which coincides at least approximately with the axis of rotation of the skiing boot on the ski, which axis extends at the rear edge of the heel. Upon a decrease of the force, the helical compression springs 31 force the soleholder 28 back to its initial position. The cam 35 may be designed to constrain the soleholder 28 to perform a movement which is transmitted by the skiing boot to the contact pressure spring which urges the skiing boot against the toe iron; this movement increases the stress of said spring. In this case, the return spring 31 may be very weak because the contact pressure spring will return the soleholder 28 to its initial positon.

If the soleholder is subjected to an upwardly directed force, such as occurs, e.g., during a rearward fall of the skier, and said force acts not only as a shock, so that it would endanger the leg of the skier, the soleholder will initially perform the just described movement until the locking or follower arm 34 has reached the rear apex of the cam 35. As the movement of the soleholder 28 is continued, the locking or follower arm 34 disengages the cam 35 so that the soleholder performs a forward pivotal movement about the pivot 30 and the toe portion of the skiing boot is released. Thereafter, the soleholder is automatically returned to its normal position by the return springs 31.

FIGS. 3-5 show another embodiment of the connection between a soleholder 43 and the soleholder carrier 23. This embodiment differs from the first in that a pivot 36 extending transversely to the longitudinal direction of the toe iron is immovably held in the soleholder carrier 23. The legs of a U-shaped member 37 are mounted on the end portions of the pivot 36, which end portions extend laterally from the soleholder carrier 23. Each of these legs is formed with a substantially triangular aperture 38 (see FIGS. 4 and When the U-shaped member 37 is in its normal positon, shown in FIG. 4, the pivot 36 engages the upper end of the aperture 38, which constitutes a cam slot, and the lower edges of the legs of the U-shaped 37 bear on respective steps 39, which are provided on the sides of the soleholder carrier 23. An expanding spring 40 nonrotatably mounted on the pivot 36 in the soleholder carrier comprises a U-shaped spring arm 41, which extends outwardly through apertures in the soleholder carrier and applies pressure to the web of the U-shaped member 37, which for this purpose has an aperture 42 and is thus held in its normal position. The soleholder 43 is a casting, in which the U-shaped member 37 is embedded. Just as in the first embodiment, the soleholder is provided with a locking or follower arm 34, which bears on the underside of a cam 35, which is provided on the rear wall of the soleholder carrier 23 and extends toward the rear end of the ski.

To enable an adjustment of the toe iron to soles having different thicknesses, a vertically adjustable holding-down member 44 is secured to the soleholder 43. A screw 45 extends through the holding-down member 44 and through a vertical slot 46 in the soleholder 43 and is threaded into a square nut 47, which is nonrotatably held in a longitudinal groove 48, which is parallel to the slot 46. When the screw 45 is somewhat loosened, the holding-down member 44 can be vertically displaced relative to the soleholder 43. The tightening of the screw results in an interengagement of serrations 49 formed on the soleholder 43 and the holding-down member 44 to prevent this movement. In the preceding embodiment, the soleholder may also consist of two parts for vertical adjustment.

The toe iron shown in FIGS. 3-5 has basically the same operation as that of the toe iron first described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. In this case too, the soleholder 43 can move upwardly and perform a forward pivotal movement relative to the soleholder carrier 23 in response to a sufficiently large, upwardly directed force acting on the soleholder. The difference resides only in that the pivot 36 is rigidly held in the soleholder carrier 23 and the movement of the soleholder is enabled by the cam slots 38 in the legs of its U-shaped member 37.

What is claimed is:

l. A toe iron for safety ski bindings comprising a transversely movable soleholder carrier having a horizontal transversely extending pivot, a soleholder having a pair of arms extending forwardly therefrom, each of said arms having a cam slot, said transverse pivot extending through said cam slot, at least one return spring in cooperative relationship to said pivot and said soleholder, said soleholder being pivotable on said pivot and upwardly movable against the force of said at least on spring, said soleholder having a lower surface abutting against at least one supporting surface provided on said soleholder carrier in a norman operative positon, a cam means provided at an upper rearward portion of said soleholder carrier, a locking arm provided at an upper forward portion of said soleholder, said locking arm bearing on said cam means for holding said soleholder against upward pivotal movement from said norman operative position except when said soleholder is subjected to an uppwardly directed overload force.

2. A toe iron according to claim 1 wherein the cam slot consists of a substantially triangular and the pivot is immovably held in the soleholder carrier and extends through said aperture in the soleholder carrier and normally engages the upper end thereof and permits a radial movement of the soleholder against the force of said at'least one return spring.

3. A toe iron according to claim 1 wherein the cam means has a cam-like extension which extends toward the rear end of the ski and wherein the locking arm of the soleholder bears in the normal operative positon against and said cam-like extension. 

1. A toe iron for safety ski bindings comprising a transversely movable soleholder carrier having a horizontal transversely extending pivot, a soleholder having a pair of arms extending forwardly therefrom, each of said arms having a cam slot, said transverse pivot extending through said cam slot, at least one return spring in cooperative relationship to said pivot and said soleholder, said soleholder being pivotable on said pivot and upwardly movable against the force of said at least on spring, said soleholder having a lower surface abutting against at least one supporting surface provided on said soleholder carrier in a norman operative positon, a cam means provided at an upper rearward portion of said soleholder carrier, a locking arm provided at an upper forward portion of said soleholder, said locking arm bearing on said cam means for holding said soleholder against upward pivotal movement from said norman operative position except when said soleholder is subjected to an uppwardly directed overload force.
 2. A toe iron according to claim 1 wherein the cam slot consists of a substantially triangular and the pivot is immovably held in the soleholder carrier and extends through said aperture in the soleholder carrier and normally engages the upper end thereof and permits a radial movement of the soleholder against the force of said at least one return spring.
 3. A toe iron according to claim 1 wherein the cam means has a cam-like extension which extends toward the rear end of the ski and wherein the locking arm of the soleholder bears in the normal operative positon against and said cam-like extension. 